by M. R. Forbes
“Take that, shithead,” Dak said, freed from the chokehold by the distraction.
Thraven started to turn his way, interrupted by Phanuel as he slipped past the guard and continued toward him.
“We can’t help him,” Jequn said, returning to her. Bastion was on his feet, a shocked look on his face.
“Lucifer, are you okay?”
“I want my mommy,” he said.
“Dak,” Abbey said. “Are you coming?”
The Trover nodded, rushing over to them. “I’m not staying here.”
“This way,” Jequn said. She tossed a puck-shaped device onto the floor. A beam of light spread upward from it. When she stepped into it, she vanished.
“Uh, I don’t know,” Dak said, looking at the device.
“Have it your way,” Abbey said. She grabbed Bastion’s shoulder and pushed him through, watching him vanish before he reached the other side.
Dak looked back as the doors to the warehouse flew open, the Children of the Covenant rushing into the space, growling as they bounded toward them. Phanuel was still locked in a duel with Thraven, his blade moving like a blur, met by the Gloritant motion for motion as though it were no effort at all.
“Frag you,” Dak said, firing on the creatures. The lead target stumbled and fell, quickly replaced.
“Dak, come on,” Abbey said.
The Trover turned back, extending his hand and scooping her forward as he crossed over the device.
41
One moment, they were in the warehouse. The next, they were on the outside, in an alley nearly fifty meters away and still moving forward.
Jequn was standing directly in front of them, gun in hand, aimed right at them.
“Get down,” she shouted.
Abbey ducked, pulling Dak with her. She smelled the creature behind her and then heard the sound of gunshots and the whistle of projectiles striking flesh over her head. The creature shrieked and fell to the ground beside them.
“Pick up the transporter,” Jequn said.
Abbey scanned the ground for the disc, assuming that was what she meant. She found it, lifting it from the ground. Immediately, the light vanished.
“Wow,” Dak said. “Nice trick.”
“Where’s your ship?” Abbey asked, getting to her feet as their savior knelt beside the downed Child, putting her blade through its neck.
“The dark side of the second moon,” Jequn said.
“How the hell did you get here?”
Jequn pointed at the transporter. “We have a more powerful version. It delivered Phanuel and me here, but it only works one way. I assume you have a ship.”
Abbey nodded. “Ruby.”
“Yes, Queenie?”
“We’re in trouble. Lucifer.”
“Queenie?” Bastion said, still dazed.
“Pass the coordinates for the closest upper-level platform to Ruby. We need to go.”
“Roger. Sending.”
“Receiving,” Ruby said. “What about the spaceport defenses?”
“Do something about them, or we’re all dead.”
“Yes, Queenie.”
She could hear scraping on the ground, hurrying their way.
“We need to get to the upper platform,” she said. “There’s a tube that way.”
Jequn nodded. “Take the lead. I’ll protect the rear.”
“Roger.”
“I’ll help you,” Dak said.
“Your bullets won’t keep them down for long.”
“Yours will?”
“They’re poisoned.”
“Nice.”
Abbey led them forward, racing through the streets toward the tube. She knew they couldn’t outrun the Children for long. What about Thraven? Would Phanuel surprise Jequn and emerge victorious? She doubted it.
They crossed a wide street, nearing the tube. The fighting had intensified further, and she could feel vibrations on the ground and hear heavy fire a few blocks away. Mechs. By the sound of it, Thraven and Outworld Defense both had units crawling the downlevel streets and alleys.
Closer gunfire drew her attention back. The roar of Dak’s pistol was impossible not to recognize, and she looked back to see the Trover shooting at a handful of oncoming Children. Jequn was ahead of him, having exchanged her gun for a second arced blade, which spread from her hand like a fan.
“Lucifer, get to the tube, make sure it’s functional.”
“Roger.”
“Ruby, where are you?”
“On my way. I got clear of the fixed batteries, but the Faust sustained some damage.”
“Can she make it to orbit?”
“Yes, Queenie. I think so. ETA forty-seven seconds.”
It wasn’t the best answer, but it would have to do. Abbey found Jequn as a silver blur amidst the Children, her blades flashing as she danced through their ranks, cutting into them while Dak knocked them down. She was impressive as she moved around them, jumping off the back of one, coming down on another, using her left weapon to block sharp teeth and the right to slice deep into a neck. More soldiers were coming behind them, converts in black lightsuits. Would they hold their fire until the Children were clear?
Abbey wasn’t taking chances. The Gift was still flowing strongly through her, empowered by Airi’s deceit. She put out her hands, grabbing one of the Children with it and dragging it down. Jequn saw it and bounced over to it, driving her blade through its neck. Abbey caught another, flipping it back, throwing it at the incoming soldiers. The creature knocked them down.
“Come on,” Bastion shouted from the tube.
“Dak,” Abbey said.
The Trover came running without hesitation. Jequn looked back, found one more of the Children to slaughter, and then jumped forward, landing easily beside them.
“Up,” Abbey said, leading them to the tube.
They gathered in the module, Jequn regaining her gun and firing at the enemy as the clear doors closed and they began to rise. They had gone up nearly thirty meters when they suddenly jerked to a stop.
“What the frag?” Dak said.
“Thraven,” Jequn replied.
Abbey looked to the surface. She could see him now, standing with Airi on one side, and one of his guards beside him.
“Bitch,” Abbey said, her anger renewed.
She knelt down, putting her hand to the bottom of the module. She could almost feel Thraven’s power there, holding them in place. She pushed against it, fighting it.
It took a few seconds, but it gave way, the module released from the hold and continuing upward, quickly climbing beyond the sight of the surface, reaching toward the platform above it.
“Ruby?” Abbey said, watching a stream of fire from the sky pounding into something on the platform.
“A little messy out here,” Ruby said.
The tube module reached the top. Abbey could see the remains of a mech on the platform, still burning and sparking from the Faust’s attack. There were soldiers nearby, both Outworld Defense and Thraven’s, separated on either side of the platform and passing attacks back and forth.
“How are we going to get up there?” Dak said.
“Jequn, do you have more of those transport discs?” Abbey asked.
She nodded, digging another a pair out of tightpacks on her suit. She handed one to Abbey. “Press this to activate it. It has to be flat on the ground to make a proper scan. It will flash blue when it’s paired. It won’t work before that.”
“What’s the range?” Abbey asked.
“Three hundred meters maximum,” Jequn replied.
“You can’t be thinking what I think you’re thinking,” Bastion said.
“The Faust can’t land here,” Abbey replied. “We need to get up higher.”
“I’ll carry the transporter up,” Jequn said, pointing at one of the buildings. “It should reach.”
“Go,” Abbey said. “We’ll cover you.”
“I don’t have a gun,” Bastion said.
Je
qun dashed across the platform toward one of the buildings. Abbey scanned the field, finding a pair of dead Outworld soldiers nearby. She reached out with the Gift, grabbing their rifles and pulling them to her, handing one of them to Bastion.
“It’s almost cheating,” Bastion said, tracking Jequn and shooting at Thraven’s soldiers when they began to target her.
She reached the building, scaling the sheer face of it with hands and feet as though she had magnetic clamps on them, quickly rising toward the top. A Shrike streaked by, firing on the Outworld soldiers and blasting them from the platform.
“Let’s go,” Abbey said, leading them toward the building.
Bastion continued laying down cover fire as they crossed the gap, tossing the rifle aside when its magazine was empty.
“I hope this works,” Abbey said, turning on the transporter and tossing it onto the ground.
The light flashed blue.
“Onward and upward,” Bastion said, stepping into it and vanishing.
Dak was next, with Abbey right behind.
42
“Let’s go, Nerd,” Gant said, putting his hand on Erlan’s shoulder.
Erlan looked back at the Gant. He still wasn’t quite used to him, and he drew back slightly as their eyes met.
“Go ahead, say it,” Gant said. “I look like a squirrel. Or a sloth. Or an ox, according to Jester over there.”
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” Benhil said.
“Not a chance.”
“Sorry, sir,” Erlan said. “You’re the first Gant I’ve ever seen. Then again, I’ve never seen any of those things you mentioned, either.”
“You don’t get out much, do you?”
“Feru is a small planet.”
“I gathered. Now get us in motion.”
“Aye, sir.”
Erlan put his hand over the Brimstone’s controls. Like he had told Bastion, he had watched tutorials on flying a starship before, but he had never actually done it. He thought he was doing pretty well so far. He had found the propulsion controls, the vectoring controls, and the emergency maneuvering controls, and he had them all laid out on the angled surface in front of him. He had also found a HUD that provided him information on the system’s status, though it had taken a little help from the mercenary pilot whose position he had taken, a pretty woman named Waxaw, to get it all figured out.
“Are you sure you don’t want Ensign Waxaw to do it?” he asked, having second thoughts.
He had been questioning his sanity since he had agreed to help Captain Mann get off the planet with his collection of former prisoners. What the hell was he thinking, abandoning the Planetary Defense to join a group of fugitives? Especially one that was being led by a woman who couldn’t die and had claws. Fragging claws!
He was known on Feru for being a little bit impetuous. Like that time he had tried to kiss Jesop during that party after they had both had too much to drink. He could still feel the sting of it on his cheek when he thought about it too much.
“I want you to do it,” Gant said. “I’m not ready to trust Queenie’s life to a mercenary crew.”
“You know I’ve never piloted a starship before, right?”
Gant chittered in laughter. “Then it’ll be more interesting. Besides, we’re cloaked. They can’t see us. Any day now, kid.”
Erlan began shifting the thrust controls and updating the vectors. The system itself was somewhat similar to the Grabber, only with a lot more individual adjustments. Maybe if he could keep things simple, limit himself to the main thrusters and a few vectoring changes, he wouldn’t frag up too badly.
He should have stayed on Feru. He was out of his league here, with these individuals, on this ship. He had put on a good enough front during the stop at the depot, but that wasn’t him. He was scared out of his mind. He wasn’t a real Republic soldier. He was militia, trained just enough to pretend to be a warrior.
He was ready to go home.
The Brimstone started moving, sinking toward the planet at half thrust. Waxaw had already helped him enter the rendezvous coordinates, and now it was up to him to get them there at the precise time. The Faust would be on its way, and it was his job to catch them.
No pressure.
“Sir,” the mercenary, Lieutenant Iann said. “We have a problem.”
Erlan felt his rapidly beating heart somehow increase its pace.
“What is it?” Gant asked.
“The debris field. We’re going to have to move right through it to reach the collection point.”
“So?”
“Cloaked ships still leave an outline when they’re surrounded by space dust. Piselle knows were out here. If she’s watching for us.”
Gant stood on top of the command station, looking out of the viewport and at the HUD. Erlan looked with him.
Thraven’s ships were visible on the sensors, arranged further out of orbit. Anvil’s Planetary Defense was gone. So was the Outworld garrison. In terms of controlling the space around the planet, the invading force had already won.
“What kind of firepower do we have on this thing?” Gant asked.
“Torpedoes, plasma, heavy railguns,” Iann said. “I’m trained on the weapons station.”
“You can’t shoot at the Brimstone with the Brimstone, can you?” Gant said. “Fine. Sit there and be ready. If there’s any sign they see us, we’ll have to come out of hiding and try to dissuade them another way.”
“Aye, sir,” Iann said.
Erlan swallowed hard. He was enjoying not being shot at.
The Brimstone continued onward. Erlan adjusted the vectors a few times, checking coordinates and watching the clock on the HUD. There was no word from Ruby yet on the Faust’s escape. He hoped it would come soon.
A blinding flash ahead of the station drew his attention. A moment later, another followed it, lighting up the space to the port side of the bridge as the Brimstone’s shields discharged.
“We’re taking fire,” Iann said. “I think they’ve spotted us.”
“Evasive maneuvers, Nerd,” Gant said. “Iann, prepare to fire back. Gavash, turn off the cloaking system.”
“Aye, sir,” Gavash said.
There was no obvious change inside the ship. There wasn’t much change outside either. They had already been made, the density of the debris from the destruction of the Outworld defenses creating a silhouette around them.
“Incoming,” Iann said.
The HUD in front of Erlan lit up, showing him that the shields were being hit with torpedoes. Three of them. The system absorbed the blow, but not without complaining heavily.
“I said evasive,” Gant shouted.
Erlan shook slightly in fear, and then set himself on the task. His hands moved across the controls, adjusting vectors and thrust to start turning the Brimstone over on her side, and angling her to give the attacking ships less of a profile.
“Iann, you can fire whenever you’re ready,” Gant added. “Hopefully before we’re all dead.
“Aye, sir,” Iann said. “Firing.”
Erlan could see the two torpedoes launch away from the Brimstone, streaking forward, covering kilometers in less than a second and then redirecting and bursting toward one of the enemy ships. They struck its shields a moment later.
“Direct hit,” Iann said. “No damage. The shields are too strong.” She paused a moment. “More incoming fire. All of Thraven’s ships are vectoring toward us.”
“Not in the mood for dying right now,” Benhil said.
“We can’t outrun them,” Gant said. “Nerd, get us in close to that one. As close as you can.”
“Aye, sir,” Erlan said, adjusting the controls.
He did it almost without thinking, watching the HUD as he made changes, the computer updating the projected path and time. He brought them on a direct course toward the port flanking ship, one of the large, dark-hulled vessels accompanying the Fire.
Its attack intensified as they drew closer to
it. Torpedoes streaked their way, quick points of light that covered the distance in milliseconds, slamming into the shields. Railgun slugs were invisible to the eye, but all too visible to the sensors, and the space ahead of them filled with the munitions, peppering the bow.
“We can’t take this kind of fire for long,” Iann said. “Shields are down forty percent.”
“What does the word evade mean to you, Nerd?” Gant asked.
“I’m trying, sir. I told you I’m new at this.”
“Try something else.”
Erlan looked back at the HUD. There was only one thing he could think to do.
He returned to the throttle, increasing the main thrusters to full power. The Brimstone accelerated quickly, the force pushing him back in his seat. The computer began to belch out collision warnings, as the enemy warship closed within seconds.
“What the frag are you doing?” Gant said.
Erlan looked back at him. The Gant’s eyes were so big it was almost funny.
“He’ll move,” he heard himself say. Since when was he so confident? “Iann, get ready to fire everything we’ve got.”
The ship was huge in front of the viewport. Erlan checked the projections on the HUD. The target’s path was changing, the vector updating as it tried to avoid being rammed.
Erlan powered up the vectoring thrusters, cutting the mains. The Brimstone sank slightly and then began to rotate, drifting through space as it turned, moving into position at the back of the enemy ship.
“Fire,” Gant said.
“Firing,” Iann replied.
Plasma beams and railgun rounds reached out from the broadside of the Brimstone, slamming into the rear of the enemy ship. Its shields continued to flash, absorbing the energy while trying to change its path and get back in the fight.
“No you don’t,” Erlan said, adding more power to the starboard thrusters and pulling the Brimstone back so that it was facing the enemy’s rear. “Fire torpedoes. Now.”
Iann did, loosing a pair of torpedoes toward the stern. The first one was caught by the shields, but the second made it through. Erlan nearly pissed himself as he watched the projectile vanish into the ship’s thrusters, detonating a moment later in a bright flash of light. The enemy ship fell silent, and then the back half of it started to come apart, spreading into a new field of debris.
